Look y’all… Life can be a real peach, amiright?
Sometimes, what we perceive to be our freedom becomes our chains and sometimes our burdens become our greatest blessings. Sometimes we become tangled in another’s web and their reality distorts our own. And sometimes, we are the ones creating pain and hurt, leaving others in our wake. All of these statements have been true for all of us at one point or another throughout the course of our lives.
Our unread history is the formula that molded us into who we are today. Transient people cannot know or comprehend the path we have traveled, and so many times, they are simply not interested anyway. Even fully developed characters in our lives are vastly unaware of the full spectrum of our history. So let’s get real. Because life can suck. And people can really suck, too.
Guess what? You are not defined by the value someone else attaches to you! Someone wants to see you as worthless? It isn’t true! Someone wants to separate and compartmentalize parts of you without considering who you are as a whole person? Don’t adopt it as your own reality. Someone wants to use you? It is a reflection of their own character. Someone wants to manipulate you and put their wrong off on you? You simply cannot allow your own self-esteem and self-worth to suffer from these people.
This isn’t a form of self-justification, this is a discovery of true identity – your path to understanding your full capacity! Who you are is valuable, loved, unique, fearfully and wonderfully made, treasured, respected, and fully known. This is the reality of who you are. You are not cheap; you cannot be thrown away. You were bought with a price!
I am, by no means, an expert in any area of life. I am encouraging myself here too. It is a position I tend to adopt so often: apologetically me, hiding my fire and intensity because I know it makes people uncomfortable. I am learning, one step at a time, to stay true to the light God placed inside me. I love learning. I am curious by nature. I love growing. I embrace change and heartache because I know what the other side looks like: a little more like heaven. Circumstances may not always change to look more like heaven because we live in a fallen world, but our minds and hearts are constantly being renewed to reflect His glory.
So give yourself some grace, extend forgiveness to those who have hurt you, step back so God can pick you up and dust you off, then once again relentlessly seek the truth for the treasure it is.
Let’s not hide our fire for the sake of convenience, not dampen our passion because others lack enthusiasm, not hide our scars because vulnerability makes people uncomfortable. Speak the truth fearlessly. Don’t compromise yourself; be authentically you. Be vulnerable, be raw, and don’t apologize for your story. You were created to be you, and there just isn’t another you that will do!
More than anything, please don’t sell yourself short. You can, of course, if you so desire, and I am pretty sure we have all been there before. But it isn’t worth the pain. You were made for the best. Know your worth and trust in His love. Because, I’ll tell you something amazing: when you see His hand moving on your behalf, to protect you and comfort you, even when you have royally made a mess of things? You’ll remember your identity and whose you are.
Look, we aren’t perfect. Lord knows I have a lifetime of mistakes and epic failures that I wish I could forget. We all do. Hurt after hurt, even hurt of our own making, takes its toll. But we can choose to learn from our experiences and grow. It isn’t easy. But its worth it in the end. And it’s beautiful. The Lord will strengthen you in your weakness. So, I am rejoicing in my weakness, rejoicing in the storm, rejoicing in my failures! The Lord is faithful, and I am renewed.
